Opportunity Knocks for Parkway on Home Turf
Parkway v Wimborne Town | Match PreviewBy Mike Parrish
Saturday’s hard-earned victory at Uxbridge finally brought a halt to a damaging league blip for Parkway. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t comfortable, but it was vital. Goals from James Watts-Barciela and substitute Gunnar Franke secured a second away win of the campaign and, just as importantly, restored a sense of belief that had been in short supply.
Now comes the harder part. Backing it up.
Despite that encouraging afternoon in West London, the league table offers no comfort. Parkway remain inside the relegation zone, two places from safety, with 24 points from 24 games. The margins are fine, the table congested, and the message is clear: wins need to come in pairs, not isolation.
Tuesday night’s rearranged fixture against 10th-placed Wimborne Town feels like exactly the type of game Parkway must target to ensure survival. Ten points separate the bottom four from the Magpies. Swing the right results together, and the picture changes quickly. Fail to do so, and the pressure tightens again.
Chris McPhee will be boosted by the return of Taylor Scarff after missing Saturday, though Callum Hall will be unavailable and Tylor Love-Holmes continues to be monitored as he works back to full fitness. Competition for places is, at last, beginning to look healthy. The high press that caused Uxbridge problems may yet open the door for Franke to earn a first start, while the balance shown in midfield on Saturday offers a platform to build from rather than admire.
Wimborne arrive in Devon with problems of their own. Tim Sills’ side are winless in nine, and have developed an unfortunate habit of sharing the spoils. Three consecutive 1-1 draws against Hungerford Town, Basingstoke Town and Weymouth underline a side struggling to turn control into 3 points. Max Bacaire was on target in Saturday’s draw with Hungerford, but a familiar second-half concession meant another opportunity slipped away.
There is history here, and it still stings. The reverse fixture earlier in the season was a fiercely contested, ill-tempered affair that Parkway appeared to have won. Goals from Scarff and Love-Holmes had the Yellows in control before a controversial late red card shifted the momentum. A Will Fletcher penalty and a Jo Smith winner completed a brutal turnaround, and it remains one of those evening’s that is still talked about.
That sense of injustice adds edge to Tuesday night, but sentiment alone won’t be enough. Parkway have not scored a first-half league goal since early November, a statistic that continues to hang over performances. Fast starts are now a necessity.
Bolitho Park needs to feel alive under the lights. The Theatre of Trees has hosted too much frustration this season, and with a daunting visit from Farnham Town looming at the weekend, this feels like a moment to turn noise into energy and pressure into purpose.
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